| Bimaran casket | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Material | Gold encrusted with gems |
| Size | 6.7 cm high, 6.6 cm diameter |
| Created | 1st century CE |
| Discovered | Bimaran 34°27′31″N70°20′59″E / 34.458544°N 70.349792°E |
| Present location | British Museum, London |
| Registration | OA 1900.2-9.1 |
The Bimaran casket or Bimaran reliquary is a small gold reliquary for Buddhist relics that was removed from inside the stupa no.2 at Bimaran, near Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan.
When it was found by the archaeologist Charles Masson during his work in Afghanistan between 1833 and 1838, the casket contained coins of the Indo-Scythian king Azes II, though recent research by Robert Senior indicates Azes II never existed [1] and finds attributed to his reign probably should be reassigned to Azes I. The most recent research however (2015) attributes the coins to Indo-Scythian king Kharahostes or his son Mujatria, who minted posthumous issues in the name of Azes. [2]
The Bimaran reliquary is sometimes dated, based on coinage analysis, to 0–15 CE (Fussman), more generally to 50–60 CE (British Museum), and sometimes much later (2nd century CE), based on artistic assumptions only. It is currently in the collections of the British Museum. [3] The dating of this unique piece of art has a strong bearing on the chronology of Buddhist art and the creation of the Buddha image, as its advanced iconography implies that earlier forms had probably been existing for quite some time before.
The casket is a small container reminiscent of the Pyxis of the Classical world. It was found without its lid. There is a lotus decorating the bottom. [4]
The casket features hellenistic representations of the Buddha (contrapposto pose, Greek himation, bundled hairstyle, wearing a moustache, realistic execution), surrounded by the Indian deities Brahma and Śakra, inside arched niches (called "homme arcade", or caitya) of Greco-Roman architecture. There are altogether eight figures in high-relief (two identical groups of Brahman-Buddha-Indra, and two devotees or Bodhisattvas in-between) and two rows of rubies from Badakhshan. [4]
Owing to their necklace, bracelets, and armbands, and halo, the two devotees are most probably representations of Bodhisattvas. They hold their hands together in a prayerful gesture of reverence, Añjali Mudrā . [4]
The casket is made in gold-repoussé and is very small, with a height of 7 cm (2+3⁄4 in). It is considered as a masterpiece of the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara.
The Buddha seems to walk sideways. His right forearm goes across his chest to form the Abhaya mudra. His left fist is clenched on his hip. The gown of the Shakyamuni Buddha is quite light compared to that of the other known representations of the standing Buddha (see Standing Buddha (Tokyo National Museum)), tending to follow the outline of the body, in a rather light way. These are probably the first two layers of monastic clothing the antaravasaka and the uttarasanga , without the heavier overcoat, the sangati , which would only go as low as the knees and be more markedly folded. Also, his gown is folded over the right and left arm (rather than being held in the left hand as in the classical Buddha image), suggesting some kind of scarf-like uttariya . He has an abundant topknot covering the ushnisha, and a simple halo surrounds his head. This combination of details of the iconography (posture and clothing) is rare and only otherwise known in the coins of Kanishka (c. 150 CE), where they bear the inscription "Shakyamuni Buddha", in apparent contrast to his coins of the "Buddha" where he wears the heavy overcoat. The posture itself is well known in the art of Gandhara in sculptures of the Buddha as a Bodhisattva, but in these cases, he wears the Indian princely dhoti and the royal turban.
The Bimaran casket was kept in a steatite box, with inscriptions stating that it contained some relics of the Buddha. When opened in the 19th century, the box did not contain identifiable relics, but instead some burnt pearls, bead of precious and semi-precious stones, and the four coins of Azes II.
The inscriptions written on the box are:
| Inscription | Original (Kharosthi script) | Transliteration | English translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outside of lid | 𐨧𐨒𐨬𐨟 𐨭𐨪𐨁𐨪𐨅𐨱𐨁 𐨭𐨁𐨬𐨪𐨐𐨿𐨮𐨁𐨟𐨯 𐨨𐨂𐨎𐨗𐨬𐨎𐨡𐨤𐨂𐨟𐨿𐨪𐨯 𐨡𐨞𐨨𐨂𐨱𐨅 | Bhagavata śarirehi Śivarakṣitasa Muṃjavaṃdaputrasa daṇamuhe | With relics of the Lord, donation of Śivarakṣita son of Mujavada |
| Outside of base | 𐨭𐨁𐨬𐨪𐨐𐨿𐨮𐨁𐨟𐨯 𐨨𐨂𐨎𐨗𐨬𐨎𐨡𐨤𐨂𐨟𐨿𐨪𐨯 𐨡𐨞𐨨𐨂𐨱𐨅 𐨞𐨁𐨩𐨟𐨁𐨡𐨅 𐨧𐨒𐨬𐨟 𐨭𐨪𐨁𐨪𐨅𐨱𐨁 𐨯𐨪𐨿𐨬𐨦𐨂𐨢𐨞 𐨤𐨂𐨩𐨀𐨅 | Śivarakṣitasa Muṃjavaṃdaputrasa daṇamuhe ṇiyatide Bhagavata śarirehi Sarvabudhaṇa puyae | Śivarakṣita son of Mujavada's donation offered with relics of the Lord in honour of all the Buddhas |
The archeological find of the Azes II coins inside the casket would suggest a date between 30 BCE to 10 BCE. Azes II would have employed some Indo-Greek artists in the territories recently conquered, and made the dedication to a stupa. The coins are not very worn, and would therefore have been dedicated soon after their minting. Indo-Scythians are indeed known for their association with Buddhism, as in the Mathura lion capital. Such date would make the casket the earliest known representation of the Buddha:
However, several features of the coins are unknown for coins of Azes: the Tyche on the reverse, the fact that the king is given the title of Dhramika in the Kharoshthi inscription on the reverse, and the fact that the Kharoshthi monograms and symbols used are those of the later Scythian king Kharahostes. [9]
The latest studies, made in 2015 by Joe Cribb, consider that the coins are issues of Kharahostes, or his son Mujatria. [2] Many characteristics of the coins of the Bimaran reliquary are consistent with the coinage of Kharahostes (10 BCE–10 CE), a successor to Azes II, who minted many coins in the name of Azes II. [9]
The four coins in the Bimaran casket are of the same type: tetradrachms of debased silver in the name of Azes, in near-new condition. [7] On the obverse they show a king on a horse to the right with right hand extended, with a three-pellet dynastic mark and a circular legend in Greek. [7] The legend reads in corrupted Greek WEIΛON WEOΛΛWN IOCAAC (that is, ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΝ ΑΖΟΥ) "King of Kings Azes". On the reverse appears a figure of Tyche standing and holding a cornucopia, with a Kharoshthi legend. [7] The legend reads 'Maharajasa mahatasa Dhramakisa Rajatirajasa Ayasa "The Great king followower of the Dharma, King of Kings Azes".
Close-up photographs by the British Museum show that the coins do bear the name of Azes, but that they also have the "Three pellets" symbol, which is characteristic of the coinage of Kharahostes, who also often uses the name of Azes on his coinage. [10] The coin type of the Bimaran coins is also identical to the main coins of Kharahostes (horseman with Tyche).
The name of Kharahostes has also been recently discovered on a silver Buddhist reliquary, found in Shinkot in Bajaur (Pakistan). This suggests that Kharahostes was keen on making Buddhist dedications similar to those of the Bimaran reliquary. [11]
Without adding any redeposition theory, the Bimaran reliquary may therefore have been dedicated during the reign of Kharahostes (10 BCE – 10 CE), and probably at the beginning of his reign since the coins are not worn and where therefore basically new when they were introduced in the casket. This would put the Bimaran casket at 10 BCE, or around the beginning of our era.
on the reverse), have coin types ("Laureate head and king seated") which are totally different from those of the Bimaran reliquary. And this is the only issue of Kujula where this symbol appears.The Kushan ruler Kudjula Kadphises does use something similar to the three-pellets mark of Kharahostes in just one of his coin types ( on the reverse of the "Laureate head and king seated" type), which has led to suggestions that the coins of the Bimaran casket may be from his reign, and can be dated to approximately 60 CE. [9] This coin type however has nothing to do with that of the coins of the Bimaran reliquary (which are all "Horseman with Tyche"). Kudjula Kadphises is also not known to have issued Scythian-type coins in the name of Azes.
The three-pellet symbol mark is not known from any other ruler either (apart from the son of Kharahostes Mujatria), [12] so that the only remaining possibility seems to be Kharahostes or his son, as determined by Joe Cribb in his 2015 study. [2]
Various disputes have been arising regarding the early date suggested for this first Buddha image.
Prof. Gérard Fussman thinks that the Bimaran reliquary was manufactured in 1–15 CE. [13] In any case manufacture necessarily took place before 60 CE, which is the latest date considered for the coins. [14] The Bimaran casket is on display at the British Museum (Joseph E. Hotung Gallery), which dates the casket to 60 CE.
Some also date the casket as late as the 2nd century CE based on stylistic assumptions. [15] Susan Huntington sums up the issue:
These disputes stem from the fact that the first representations of the Buddha are generally assumed to be around the 1st century CE or later, about fifty to a hundred years later than the reign of Azes II, under the rule of the Kushans. Since the Bimaran casket, with its already advanced Buddhist iconography, was manufactured at the beginning of our era, give or take a few decades, it is highly probably that much earlier images of the Buddha had already been in existence before its creation, going back to the 1st century BCE.
Since the casket already displays quite a sophisticated iconography (Brahma and Indra as attendants, Bodhisattvas) in an advanced style, it would suggest much earlier representations of the Buddha had been current by the time of the deposition of the Bimaran casket (10 BCE – 10 CE), going back to the rule of the Indo-Greeks in the 1st century BCE. The last Indo-Greek kings Strato II and Strato III ruled until around 20 CE. This view, that Greco-Buddhist art already was flourishing in the 1st century BCE under the sponsorship of Indo-Greek kings, was originally advocated by Alfred A. Foucher and others, although with much less archaeological evidence.
Stylistically, the casket (gold inlaid with precious stone) is also highly consistent with the art of the Scythians, as known for example from the Tillya tepe archaeological site in northern Afghanistan. The Tillya tepe treasure is also dated to the 1st century BCE, and also has what could be early representations of the Buddha, such as the Tillya Tepe Buddhist coin.
The Bimaran casket also has some similarities with the Kanishka casket, which however is of much coarser execution, and securely dated to around 127 CE.
The Greco-Buddhist art or Gandhara art is the artistic manifestation of Greco-Buddhism, a cultural syncretism between Ancient Greek art and Buddhism. It had mainly evolved in the ancient region of Gandhara, located in the northwestern fringe of the Indian subcontinent.
Indo-Scythians were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples of Scythian origin who migrated from Central Asia southward into the northwestern Indian subcontinent, precisely into the modern-day South Asian regions of Afghanistan, Pakistan and northern India. The migrations persisted from the middle of the 2nd century BCE to the 4th century CE.
Haḍḍa is a Greco-Buddhist archeological site located ten kilometers south of the city of Jalalabad, in the Nangarhar Province of eastern Afghanistan.
Azes II, may have been the last Indo-Scythian king, speculated to have reigned circa 35–12 BCE, in the northern Indian subcontinent. His existence has been questioned; if he did not exist, artefacts attributed to his reign, such as coins, are likely to be those of Azes I.
The Kanishka casket or Kanishka reliquary, is a Buddhist reliquary made in gilded copper, and dated to the first year of the reign of the Kushan emperor Kanishka, in 127 CE. It is now in the Peshawar Museum in the historic city of Peshawar, Pakistan.
The Mathura lion capital is an Indo-Scythian sandstone capital from Mathura in Northern India, dated to the first decade of the 1st century CE. It was consecrated under the rule of Rajuvula, one of the Northern Satraps of the region of Mathura.
Kharahostes or Kharaosta was an Indo-Scythian ruler in the northern Indian subcontinent around 10 BCE – 10 CE. He is known from his coins, often in the name of Azes II, and possibly from an inscription on the Mathura lion capital, although another satrap Kharaostes has been discovered in Mathura.
Mujatria, previously read Hajatria, is the name of an Indo-Scythian ruler, the son of Kharahostes as mentioned on his coins.
Indo-Corinthian capitals are capitals crowning columns or pilasters, which can be found in the northwestern Indian subcontinent, and usually combine Hellenistic and Indian elements. These capitals are typically dated to the first centuries of the Common Era, and constitute an important aspect of Greco-Buddhist art.
The Butkara Stupa is an important Buddhist stupa near Mingora, in the area of Swat, Pakistan. It may have been built by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka, but it is generally dated slightly later to the 2nd century BCE.
The Apracharajas, also known as Avacarajas, were an Indo-Scythian ruling dynasty of present-day western Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan. The Apracharaja capital, known as Apracapura, was located in the Bajaur district of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Apraca rule of Bajaur lasted from the 1st century BCE to the 1st century CE.
Aspavarma or Aspa was an Indo-Scythian ruler of the clan of the Apraca, who ruled from around 15 to 45 CE. He ruled in the Bajaur area of modern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan and is considered one of the Apraca rulers. He is essentially known through his coins and a few inscription.
The Indo-Greeks practiced numerous religions during the time they ruled in the northwestern Indian subcontinent from the 2nd century BCE to the beginning of the 1st century CE. In addition to the worship of the Classical pantheon of the Greek deities found on their coins, the Indo-Greeks were involved with local faiths, particularly with Buddhism, but also with Hinduism and Zoroastrianism.
The Northern Satraps, or sometimes Satraps of Mathura, or Northern Sakas, are a dynasty of Indo-Scythian ("Saka") rulers who held sway over the area of Punjab and Mathura after the decline of the Indo-Greeks, from the end of the 1st century BCE to the 2nd century CE. They are called "Northern Satraps" in modern historiography to differentiate them from the "Western Satraps", who ruled in Sindh, Gujarat and Malwa at roughly the same time and until the 4th century CE. They are thought to have replaced the last of the Indo-Greek kings in the Punjab region, as well as the Mitra dynasty and the Datta dynasty of local Indian rulers in Mathura.
The Yavana Era, or Yona was a computational era used in the Indian subcontinent from the 2nd century BCE for several centuries thereafter, probably starting in 174 BCE. It was initially thought that the era started around 180-170 BCE, and corresponded to accession to the Greco-Bactrian throne of Eucratides, who solidified Hellenic presence in the Northern regions of India. The Greeks in India flourished under the reign of the illustrious, Menander - greatest of the Yavana rulers, who campaigned as far as Pataliputra in Eastern India. It is now equated with the formerly theorized "Old Śaka era".
Indravarman or Indravarma, also called Itravasu on his coinage, was an Indo-Scythian king of the Apracas, who ruled in the area of Bajaur in modern northwestern Pakistan. He was the son of Vispavarma. Indravarma had a son, Aspavarma, commander and later king, known from an inscription discovered at Taxila. Aspavarma also mentioned his father Indravarma on some of his coins.
The Rukhuna reliquary, also sometimes Rukhana reliquary, also described as the Bajaur reliquary inscription, is a Scythian reliquary which was dedicated and inscribed in 16 CE by Rukhuna, Queen of Indo-Scythian king Vijayamitra. The inscription on the reliquary, also called the Bajaur reliquary inscription, was published by Richard Salomon with a photograph in 2005, and gives a relationship between several eras of the period, and especially a confirmation of a Yavana era in relation to the Azes era, that is "Azes era= Yavana era - 128 years".
Loriyan Tangai is an archaeological site in the Gandhara area of Pakistan, consisting of many stupas and religious buildings where many Buddhist statues were discovered.
Tapa Shotor, also Tape Shotor or Tapa-e-shotor, was a large Sarvastivadin monastery near Hadda, Afghanistan, and is now an archaeological site. According to archaeologist Raymond Allchin, the site of Tapa Shotor suggests that the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara descended directly from the art of Hellenistic Bactria, as seen in Ai-Khanoum.
Indo-Scythian art developed under the various dynasties of Indo-Scythian rulers in northwestern India, from the 1st century BCE to the early 5th century CE, encompassing the productions of the early Indo-Scythians, the Northern Satraps and the Western Satraps. It follows the development of Indo-Greek art in northwestern India. The Scythians in India were ultimately replaced by the Kushan Empire and the Gupta Empire, whose art form appear in Kushan art and Gupta art.
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